INFO 281 - Information Secrecy

About This Guide

This guide is designed to support iSchool students in INFO 281, Information Secrecy, taught by Susan Maret. The secrecy course covers the classification/declassification system, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), public (open) records, and presidential libraries. This guide is also a brief finding aid to these subjects.

Databases & Reference

CRS Reports @congress.gov
Provides access to the research reports prepared by the Congressional Research Service for use by the U.S. Congress.
CRS Reports @ UNT Digital Library
Includes different versions of CRS reports located from multiple websites and uploaded print versions. The reports are easily browsable by subject.

Declassified Documents Online This link opens in a new window
Also known as U.S. Declassifed Documents Online. A multi-disciplinary, comprehensive source which includes previously classified government documents from the White House and a variety of U.S. government agencies during post World War II through the 1970s. Also explores the political, economic, and social conditions during domestic and foreign events. Includes documents from presidential libraries.

Defense Technical Information Center
Technical reports produced by the Department of Defense and its contractors.

Gale OneFile War and Terrorism This link opens in a new window
Researchers accessing the more than 1.7 million articles in this database will gain insight into conflicts and their causes, impact, and perception on a global scale. This collection for analysts, risk management professionals, and students of military science, history, and social science is comprised of more than 200 subject-appropriate, full-text periodicals that are updated daily.

GAO Restricted Reports (2015-2021)
An annual list of restricted reports that are “determined to contain either classified information or controlled unclassified information by the Executive Branch audited agencies and therefore cannot be publicly released.”
Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States
Search federal records in the National Archives and Records Administration. Provides a general overview of records at the group level to assist researchers.

HeinOnline Government, Politics, and Law Collection This link opens in a new window
HeinOnline’s Government, Politics & Law contains more than 80 million pages of content across 80,000 titles and 195,000 volumes. HeinOnline bridges the gap in history by providing comprehensive coverage from inception of more than 2,200 periodicals. In addition to its vast collection of journals, the database also contains the Congressional Record bound volumes in entirety, complete coverage of the U.S. Reports back to 1754, constitutions for every country in the world, classic books from the 18th & 19th centuries, all United States Treaties, the Federal Register and CFR from inception, and much more.

Homeland Security Digital Library
Contains non-classified presidential directives, national strategy documents, and specialized resources related to homeland security
IC on the Record Database
Policy documents from the U.S. intelligence community that have been reviewed and made available to the general public.
Inspector General Reports
Contains inspector general reports of different federal agencies in one place for convenient access by the public.
ISOO Annual Reports (1979-2019)
A compilation of the Information Security Oversight Office’s annual reports, which document classification, declassification, and national security activities throughout the Executive Branch.
ISOO Frequently Asked Questions
A guide compiled by the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) that defines classified national security information, security markings, original classification authorities (OCA), derivative classification, and the national security industrial program.
Open Government (American Library Association)
A guide to American Library Association (ALA) council resolutions, the open government policies of the Obama administration, and the Less Access to Less Information series (1981-1987), which documents, in chronological order, government information restriction
OpenNet (Department of Energy)
Provides access to bibliographic references of declassified Department of Energy documents as well as 130,000 full-text documents.
Opensecrets.org
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money in politics. Data and analysis are based on official government sources and media reports.
Presidential Directives and Executive Orders @ FAS
National security related presidential directives and executive orders from Harry Truman to Joe Biden.
Record Group Explorer (NARA)
Allows you to explore NARA’s permanent federal records with a visual tool that breaks down the total number of records by percentage and specific government entity.
Secrecy News @ Project on Government Secrecy
Compiled by Steve Aftergood, director, Project on Government Secrecy (Federation of American Scientists). Available from 1991 to the present provide coverage of “new developments in secrecy, security and intelligence policies.”
Secrecy Report Cards
Compiled by Open the Government from 2004-2013 and offers statistics and policies on aspects of government secrecy (e.g, classification, state secrets, secrecy-related laws).

U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994 This link opens in a new window
Includes House & Senate Reports, Senate treaty documents and Senate executive reports, and presidential messages. To see documents before this date, refer to the American State Papers, 1789-1838.

Declassified Documents

Executive Order 13526 created a “uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information.”

There are three ways classified information is declassified:

Links

Declassification Advisory Panels
A list of federal declassification advisory panels dating back to 1996.
Declassification and Downgrading (22 CFR § 9.9)
Regulations on declassification and downgrading of classified information.
Declassification Frequently Asked Questions
The U.S. Department of Justice’s list of frequently asked questions and answers concerning automatic declassification of records per Executive Order 13526, Classified National Security Information.
Declassified Records at NARA
Explains the national Archives and records Administration (NARA) role in the declassification of government records. Also provides information on making a mandatory declassification review.
Digital National Security Archive
Over 100,000 declassified records documenting historic U.S. national security policy decisions from Harry Truman to Barack Obama.
Foreign Relations of the United States
The official documentary history of major U.S. foreign policy decisions. All documents selected by FRUS compilers for publication “undergo a vetting process to ensure that sensitive or protected material is not divulged. In some cases entire documents are withheld, while in other instances only a part (and often a very small part) is excised.”
Guide To Using Declassified Documents
Historian David Gibbs’ guide to locating declassified documents.
ISOO (Information Security Office)
ISOO develops, coordinates, and issues directives, instructions, and policies regarding classification and declassification under Executive Orders 13526 and 12829. ISOO also reviews and approves regulations issued by federal agencies.
John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection
Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which directed mandated that all assassination-related material be housed at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The collection consists of assassination-related records, photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings and artifacts (approximately 2,000 cubic feet of records) most of which are open for research.
National Declassification Center (NDC)
The blog of the National Declassification Center. Provides announcements of recently declassified records and seeks recommendations from the public on declassification.
Presidential Libraries
A list of all U.S. presidential libraries, links to their sites, and contact information.
Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB)
An advisory board established by the U.S. Congress “to promote the fullest possible public access to a thorough, accurate, and reliable documentary record of significant U.S. national security decisions and activities.” PIDB’s mandate includes advising the President and other government officials on policies deriving from the issuance of executive orders pertaining to classification and declassification.

FOIA & Open Records

The Freedom of Information Act (5 USC §552 et seq, or FOIA, is a federal law that provides access to agency records. All federal agencies are required to make records available unless they are protected by exemptions outlined in the statute. Many countries also have freedom of information laws. States (such as California) have provisions for open records or public records requests.

Access to Public Records in California
A guide to California agencies that must provide public records and how to make a public records request.
California Public Records Act Primer
An in-depth look at the California Public Records Act. Covers relevant agencies, exemptions, supporting documents, the definition of public records, and how to access records.
DOJ Guide to FOIA
The Department of Justice’s guide to the Freedom of Information Act. Gives detailed explanations of proactive disclosures, procedural requirements, fees, exemptions, and exclusions.
FOIA & other resources @Bk of Secrets
Links to information on policy, how to make a request, and agencies concerned with freedom of information, open records, and FOIA.
Freedom of Information Act Documents
A collection of seminal FOIA legal cases and legislation. Also lists resources addressing freedom of information laws internationally.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee
The Federal FOIA Advisory Committee reports to the Archivist of the United States who chartered the Committee in 2014. Contains links to public comments, committee membership, reports, and subcommittees.
History of FOIA @ EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s historical overview of FOIA and its evolution.
How to File a FOIA Request
From the National Security Archive, this guide explains how to draft a FOIA request and advice on the appeal process.
Office of Government Information Services
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) works to improve government compliance with FOIA and serves as an intermediary to assist requestors with obtaining records.
Secrecy Orders @ U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The full text of the federal regulations concerning secrecy orders.
UK National Archives
Describes the UK Freedom of Information Act and requesting records.

Examples of FOIA Reading Rooms

Section 552(a)(2) of FOIA mandates that each federal agency make four categories of records available by electronic means (final opinions and orders"; specific agency policy statements; administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public; and records disclosed in response to a FOIA request”). Federal agencies fulfill these requirements by providing documents in “reading rooms” on their websites.

Library and Information Science